


Hiders and Seekers

by Zhie



Category: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Bunniverse, Dogs, Gender Identity, Genderfluid Character, Shapeshifting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-09-14 01:19:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9150439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zhie/pseuds/Zhie
Summary: A late-night library intruder causes Erestor to begin an investigation that leads to more questions than answers for him.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to tumblr on March 20, 2016
> 
> Notes from tumblr: 
> 
> This is dedicated to @nim-lock, who offered the character of Cuan for the ‘send me an OC’ prompt. Bunniverse, but like most things, totally stand-alone.

Thumpa-thump-thump-thum-thum-thumpa-thump.

Estel came to a sudden halt as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. “Oh! Sorry!” He gripped the railing of the theatre firmly. “I did not think anyone was here.”

“You may enter.” Erestor was seated on the floor at the back of the audience area of the small theatre in RIvendell. There was a space behind the last row where sometimes props were stored or where a musician might be set up to play, depending on the performance. There was a folder of papers leaned against the wall, and a mug of beer with a thin layer of foam still on the top, threatening to break. He had a small sack on the ground as well. “Are you playing a game?” He guessed.

Estel nodded, and gripped the rail tighter as a noise came from the other side of the theatre. The door was locked; Estel had tried it himself first. “Hiders and Seekers,” he hissed as a blur went past the glass inlaid in the window of the door. 

Erestor gave a nod of his head in the direction of the part of the theatre in the back where he sat, where the backs of the chairs were high enough that no one could see beyond them to see what might be behind, unless it be tall or they be in the back. Erestor was himself tall, and even while sitting, helped to block whatever might be there - which, at this point, was Estel, climbing over Erestor’s knees in haste to get to the new hiding spot.

It was not a moment too soon - Elladan ran into the room from the open door and started to bound up the steps. He stopped when he saw Erestor. “Beg pardon - has Estel been this way? Or Elrohir, perhaps?” While some might think them too old for games, both Elladan and Elrohir were indulgent in teaching Estel how to play, and in exploring with him all of the things that they once had at his age. 

The keys hanging at Erestor’s hip jangled and covered any noise that might have come from Estel, who was so close that Erestor could easily have reached out and tweaked his nose. “Would it really be fair if I told you?” questioned Erestor in return.

“I have been chasing them both for over an hour, and I have other things to do today.”

“If I had seen them, or if they had disturbed me, do you not think that I w— was that–” Erestor turned his head to look at the window at the door.

“Elrohir! Ha!” Elladan rushed through the theatre, up over some of the seats to get to the door that led out. It was unlocked from the inside, and he flung it open and rushed down the hallway. It slammed shut in his wake.

“Wow, you lie really good!” said Estel after Elladan was gone.

“I never lied. I just withheld important information.” Erestor took a sip from his mug before he offered some to Estel, who shook his head. “I have some food with me if you are hungry.”

“No, thank you,” said Estel. “I think I should find another place to hide.”

“Oh?” Erestor moved his legs to the side to allow Estel to pass.

“Yes. Ada says not to disturb you when you are doing lots of thinking and I think you might be doing lots of thinking.”

“Is that so?” Erestor drank again, more deeply this time. “Well, we would not want to disappoint your father.”

“Yeah, he says old people hate being bothered, so I should go. Thank you for hiding me!” he called out as he bounded down the steps.

Erestor narrowed his eyes at the retreating youngling. Less than a minute later, someone else entered the room and began to ascend, but stopped much sooner than Estel had. “Sorry,” whispered Elrohir.

“Does your father think I am old?” Erestor did not mean it to come out that way, but he was grumpy now. He had not minded being disturbed, but that others were warned that happening upon him in solitude should be followed by a retreat bothered him.

“Uh… do you really want to know the answer to that question?” Elrohir glanced over his shoulder. “I mean… age is a sign of wisdom, and you know that Ada respects your–”

“Nevermind. You had better leave; Elladan was here not long ago.”

“Really? Which way did he go?” asked Elrohir with wide eyes. 

“East corridor,” answered Erestor as he picked up his mug. Elrohir darted off with a hasty thank you.

He sighed when he was once more left alone. He closed his eyes, and leaned his head back against the wall for a moment. Another sigh escaped him, and he checked his satchel of food. It was cold now, and he frowned at it. The beer was warming as well, but he did not feel much like walking through the hallway and encountering anyone. 

This was followed by several minutes of staring into space, and then the decision to gather his things and find someone to warm his supper, and perhaps a more secluded place to go. There was a play being performed in the Hall of Fire, where there was a greater amount of seating, but all of it was essentially at the same height, which could make it difficult to see over others. It was crowded, and somewhat smoky, and Erestor opted to go to the one place he was most comfortable.

He lit only a few of the sconces when he opened the library. His cloak and formal robe were draped over the first chair he encountered. The lighter robe was tossed over a display just a few meters away. He rounded the corner to a little alcove near the desk, and stopped.

Now he was the potential intruder. Lounging on one of the two chairs behind the wall appeared to be an ellon who casually lifted the glass of wine in salute to Erestor. “You have changed your routine this evening,” the elf commented. “Well done.”

“Not sure who you are–”

“Cuan.”

“–or how you managed to be here–”

“You leave a key beneath the doormat.”

“–but I know for certain that you should not be.”

“And you should?”

“It is my library.”

“It says ‘Elrond’s Library’ over the door.”

“Well, he got to name it, but I gave birth to it.” Erestor set his things down on the table in a bit of a huff. “Just what are you doing here anyhow?”

“I actually answered several of your questions in a row,” pointed out Cuan. “I think you should tell me why you happen to be here.”

“I just went over that.” Erestor studied the intruder for a moment. “You know, I can have you removed from here.”

“Only if you want the guards to ask what you are doing here after hours.” Cuan smugly swirled the glass of wine. “I am sure they would be very interested.”

“Only because they are insufferable gossips.” Erestor settled into the chair beside Cuan. “Why have I never seen you here before?” he asked. “I typically know who my patrons are.”

“I am here - and often. I just tend not to say very much. Also, I usually let myself in.”

“You certainly have use of your tongue now,” Erestor pointed out. “Will you at least tell me why you feel the need to break in after hours?”

“Breaking in seems harsh. You did leave a key.” Cuan held up the key, and Erestor snatched it away. “The library closed too early. Maybe scholars and scribes like to read in the morning or late afternoons, but I prefer to do my reading late at night with a nice glass of red.”

“If I find wine stains on the books, at least I will know that they came from you,” Erestor said. He glanced at the stack of books on the side of the table. Several were about dogs, and there was one on animal first aid. “Be careful. Use a coaster or something.”

Cuan’s laughter echoed in the empty library. “I am not some young pup. I know how to behave around books.”

Erestor looked the elf up and down. “Right. How old are you?” he asked.

Beneath a mumble and a cough, Cuan choked out something that sounded enough like ‘seventy-eight’ for Erestor to laugh now.

“Not a young pup, eh?” Erestor drank from his mug and shook his head. “Just keep your feet off the furniture and do not spill any wine, boy.”

“Who said I was a boy?” muttered Cuan, gaze still on the page of the open book.

“Oh.” Erestor scrutinized Cuan again. “Sorry… you… “ He cleared his throat. “Sorry, miss,” he said as his cheeks took on a peachy hue.

“Who said I was a girl?”

Erestor declined to say anything for many minutes. Finally, he picked up his things and dropped the key onto the table. “Make certain you put out the sconces when you leave, pup,” he settled on before he let himself out.

Erestor flipped through the rosters on Glorfindel’s desk. Glorfindel had entered into the sparse office he still kept at the barracks nearly an hour ago, but upon finding Erestor intently scouring the entries from the last several months, the blond guardian decided it was best to pretend that he had no need for the desk and accompanying chair. He was therefore completing an unnecessary inventory when Erestor suddenly summoned him from a few meters away. “Who does this Cuan fellow belong to?”

Glorfindel dropped the list he was working on back onto a bench against the wall. “You mean Cully?”

“Sure,” answered Erestor after a moment of hesitation. “If that is the same person. I looked for him in the census, and all I saw noted was that he reports to you. I came looking here for answers, which I assume you have.”

“Cully is not really… involved with anyone. Why… are you… “ Glorfindel stopped when he reached the desk and leaned closer to Erestor. “…interested?”

Erestor pressed his lips together and gave Glorfindel a withering look. “That was not what I meant. The child is barely beyond his majority. I would expect that he has parents.”

Glorfindel bristled a bit and straightened back up. “They have reached their majority,” he began to answer.

“Of course they have - they have a grown son. A barely grown son. Maybe. Or daughter. Obviously, that is why I have questions for them.”

“Ah… so Cully told you, then,” said Glorfindel as he relaxed.

“Told me what?”

Glorfindel furrowed his brow. “So Cully did not tell you…”

Erestor heaved a sigh. “Glorfindel, in the last twenty-four hours, I have been informed by my employer’s sons that I am ancient, had my library broken into, and was chased out of my library somehow by the same person who broke into it. I would really appreciate it if you stopped being a thorn in my side as well.”

“I told him he should stop doing that,” Glorfindel said with a shake of his head.

Erestor slammed the log book shut. “You knew Cuan was breaking into the library?”

“No - I had no idea they were doing that.” Glorfindel sat down on the edge of the desk. “I told Elrond to stop saying things in front of the children if he did not want them to get back to you.”

“So you knew that he thinks I am old!”

“Honestly, Erestor, being an old elf is far better than the alternative. Trust me,” Glorfindel added with a frown. “So what was Cully doing in the library? Am I going to need to discipline them?”

“Just reading. But it was after hours, and I think that his parents should–”

“They have no parents here in Rivendell. If they do something you disagree with, and need correction, please let me know. Did they damage anything?”

Erestor drummed his fingers on the desk. “We are talking about just one person, right?”

“Cully, correct? Unless they were with someone else,” Glorfindel added.

Erestor cleared his throat. “You know how much I hate riddles. You keep saying they or them. Does this have to do with the ‘not a boy, not a girl’ thing?”

“What did Cully tell you?” prodded Glorfindel. When Erestor looked reluctant to recount it all, Glorfindel pressed on with, “I obviously know Cully better than you do, but it would really help if you told me what happened last night.”

Reluctantly, Erestor recounted the happenings of the previous evening, and Glorfindel listened intently. When he finished, Glorfindel reached open and flipped through the log book. “I suspect you were hoping to find some indication of a specific gender or names of parents or something else to answer other questions you have.”

Erestor chewed at his lip. “Maybe.”

“Before I tell you anything about Cully, I ask you this - does it matter?”

“I want to know who is lurking after hours in my library,” answered Erestor.

Glorfindel tilted his head back and looked thoughtfully at the ceiling. Then he grinned, hopped off the desk, and opened the drawer on the right. “I can tell you who the main culprit is,” he said, and he pulled a mirror out of the desk and held it up to Erestor.

Erestor placed his hand on the top of the mirror and slowly pulled it down, directing a glare in Glorfindel’s direction. “Why am I not surprised that you have such a large mirror in your desk?”

“Some people say age before beauty.” Glorfindel replaced the mirror and shut the drawer. “I say, why not both?”

As Glorfindel spoke, Erestor reached up and twirled his finger around a long lock of hair that had fallen over Glorfindel’s shoulder. He immediately pulled Glorfindel down by it once he had stopped talking. “Where does Cuan come from? Who is he?”

“Oww… not the hair,” Glorfindel grasped Erestor’s wrist to try to free himself. “Cuan is not a he right now,” he winced.

“I thought you were my friend.” Erestor released his hold, golden strands unraveling as Glorfindel pulled away. “You answer riddles with riddles.”

“Cuan’s identity ebbs and flows.”

“Ebbs and flows how?” demanded Erestor. “What, is he an elf one day, and a dog another, and an elleth next week?”

Glorfindel’s eyes widened and he froze where he was standing.

Erestor crossed his arms over his chest. “I am such an idiot,” he admonished himself. “Cuan… Huan… right? I guessed it accidentally, aye?”

There was a shrug of shoulders in reply. “Maybe…”

“Glorfindel…”

“I promised I would not tell anyone.” Glorfindel dropped his voice to a whisper. “He trusts me–”

“Ha! It is he!”

“No, no… ‘he’ as in Orome.”

Erestor pouted. “Why does Orome not trust me?”

Glorfindel shut his eyes and took a moment before he answered. “You will have to take that up with Orome. He sent Cuan here a few decades ago. It was done very quietly. Not even Elrond knows. Cuan was not… fitting in very well in Valinor, and he thought I would be an appropriate mentor.”

“Why you?”

“I am going to pretend that did not sound so skeptical,” said Glorfindel. “I have managed to keep Nahar alive since I returned,” he reminded Erestor. “I guess that was all he needed to see on my resume. Secondly, I understand better than most that sometimes the way we appear physically is not always the way we feel we are. I know that you want a solid explanation - something with specific, yes or no answers. That I cannot give you. All I ask is that you respect Cuan - Cully to those who know them best.”

“Does he… do they…” Erestor corrected himself, “…turn into a dog regularly?”

“More than half of the time,” answered Glorfindel.

“That must be why I have not noticed him. Them. Sheesh… this is harder than you realize,” Erestor scolded. He tapped his fingers on the desk again. “Where do you keep scrap?” he asked as he began to open drawers at random. 

Glorfindel slid a piece of paper to the center of the desk. “Charcoal is in the top middle drawer if you need something to write with.”

“Thank you.” Erestor pulled out a stick and used it to scribble some things on the paper. “So… Cuan… Cully… whatever… is really… over five hundred years old.”

“Hmm?”

The page with the sloppily done equation was slid to Glorfindel. “In dog years.”

Glorfindel smiled. “Never thought of it that way, but I guess. If that helps you in some way.”

“I think I have all of the information I need. Thank you.” Erestor stood up and pushed the chair in. “Sorry for intruding.”

“No worries,” responded Glorfindel with a wave of his hand.

“Do you happen to know where Cuan might be right now?”

Glorfindel pulled the chair away from the desk again so that he could sit down. “He spends a lot of his time in the kitchen, waiting for the cooks to drop things on the floor.”

“Sounds about right,” decided Erestor as he left the barracks.

Estel came to a sudden halt as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. “Master Erestor!” The lad bounded up the rest of the steps and halted just before he reached his tutor. “Master Erestor, I have been searching all over, and I cannot find Cuan!”

Erestor was sitting in his usual spot in the deserted theatre, with his mug of beer and his sack of food. There was a large, grey dog resting on its side, head on Erestor’s legs, who looked up without lifting its head. “Is Cuan playing Hiders and Seekers with you?”

“Uh-huh. Elladan and Elrohir had things to do, so Cuan offered to play with me.”

“I see. I wonder where Cuan could be.” Erestor looked to his fluffy companion. “Really, Cuan could be just about anywhere.”

The dog whined slightly.

Erestor looked back to Estel. “Did you look outside for Cuan?”

“Oh! No, I have not! Thank you, Erestor!” Estel took the steps two at a time back down, and then ran out into the hallway.

“Pretty sure this is cheating,” remarked Erestor upon retrieving his mug of beer.

“No, this is payback for all the times he pulls my tail or tries to ride on me when he finds me in the kitchen,” answered Cuan. 

“I see.” Erestor peaked into his satchel. “He will not give up easily. I suspect you might be stuck like this for a while. I do have some cheese and rolls, if you get hungry.”

Cuan rolled onto their back, huge grey paws waving at Erestor. “What about belly rubs?”

“Do not push it. I can still call Estel back.”

“Fair enough.” Cuan rolled back and sat up next to Erestor, sticking their nose into the satchel.

“Hey! No slobbering on my supper!” Erestor pulled the satchel away. “Tell me what you want.” When Erestor received no answer, he pulled a roll out of the satchel. “Right, right, only talks three times in this form. Here.” Erestor held out the roll, but then pulled it back a moment later. “Wait, do you do tricks?” he asked with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

Cuan bared their teeth and growled. 

“Fine, be that way.” Erestor held out the roll again, and Cuan happily took the treat, tail beating against the floor. Thumpa-thump-thump-thum-thum-thumpa-thump. “Actually… the library should be closed by now… shall we go read for a while? I doubt Estel will think to look in there.”

Cuan stretched out and stood back up on all fours, then gave a confident ‘woof’ of consent, then followed Erestor through the house, right past a befuddled Estel who was looking under benches in the hallway. A moment later, there was a yelp, and Erestor turned to see Estel letting go of Cuan’s tail. “Estel!”

“Sorry…” Estel shoved his hands in his pockets. “No one knows whose dog he is. I want to adopt him, but Ada says he probably belongs to someone. Is he your dog?”

Erestor looked down at Cuan, who sat now beside him. Cuan nudged at Erestor’s hand with their nose. “You should never pull a dog’s tail,” scolded Erestor.

Estel hung his head. “Sorry.”

“You do not need to apologize to me,” corrected Erestor.

Estel stepped up to Cuan. “Sorry I pulled your tail.” Cuan licked at Estel’s hands in response. “I need to go find Cuan now,” he remembered, and he started to scamper away.

“I think Cuan might be by the river.”

Estel turned around, brow knit. He blinked and looked about. Only Erestor and the large, grey dog were anywhere in sight. “Oh. Thank you.” He started to leave again, only to turn once more and say, “Erestor, your voice sounds weird. You might want to see Ada. It sounds like you are getting a cold.” 

Erestor frowned and looked down at his companion. “Was that really necessary?” he asked as they continued to the library.

“I want to see how you react when someone pulls your tail,” muttered Cuan.


End file.
